Social Networking Enough Already…When It Hinders Your Writing

Social Networking Enough Already…When It Hinders Your Writing

By Donna M. McDine

As a society we are bombarded with technology at every angle. Often times overloading our brains of too much information. No matter what type of business world you travel in it has become a constant buzz of checking our email and voice mail at a frantic pace, and hanging out on social media networks to the point that our face-to-face communication suffers.

Personally, I’ve come to the decision I need to turn off the technology to rejuvenate my creative juices for my writing. When I say turn-off, I don’t mean completely, but with limitations. I always write my first draft of an article or new manuscript long hand with my favorite pen. In my case, my Graf Von Faber-Castell pen. Yes an indulgent but oh so worth it! Using this method to write away from my computer greatly reduces my temptation to check email every 30 seconds and surf various social media networks.

Over the years I have forced myself to get to the task at hand and write first, marketing second (yes, I know many feel social networking is a form of marketing, but when you spend the majority of your time socializing with peers and not connecting with your readers what’s the point?), researching publishing markets and blogging (which is a form of social networking) and in my opinion instrumental in developing one’s platform. How to build your platform is a topic for another day.

It’s wonderful to connect with people through social networking whom you most likely would have never met otherwise, however if you allow social networking to become your “job” you risk valuable writing time that could result in the next “big” book!

Yes, utilize social networking but with responsibility. Do you want to concentrate on honing your writing skills and writing the best manuscript possible or have hundreds of thousands followers on your social networks with no concrete publishing credits to show for your efforts? You decide what’s important to you. I made my decision to get out from behind my computer and engage in-person with members of my community who are instrumental in getting the books in to the children’s hands, librarians, teachers, parents, after school program directors, etc. The end and continued result is my business relationships have soared.

Good luck and expand your outreach beyond your computer! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist